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Liter Divided By Three

2024

Video: Liter Divided By Three

Video: Liter Divided By Three
Video: Division Of Millilitres And Litres | Maths For Kids | Grade 3 | Periwinkle 2024, March
Liter Divided By Three
Liter Divided By Three
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Liter divided into three

"Opel Corsa" second generation appeared in 1993. Since then, 2.7 million cars have scattered across 60 countries. During modernization, the company did not focus on updating the appearance (it is minimal), but on technical innovations. The most notable of these is a three-cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder.

It seems that not only the Russian, but also the European motorist who has seen everything, perceives the engine, which has less than four cylinders, as something inferior. Relatively few three-cylinder cars are brought here by the "east wind" from Japan (see table). Why did Opel offer the engine of such a rare circuit for the modernized Corsa?

Theoretical assumptions are quite solid: in a three-cylinder engine, the number of friction pairs (piston-cylinder, liner shaft, cam-beam, etc.) is about a quarter less than in a four-cylinder one. This means that friction losses will significantly decrease - as a result, profitability will improve. Another thermodynamic factor also affects it: according to the laws of this science, the efficiency of heat use in the engine is greatest if the working volume of one cylinder is about 500 cm3. It drops significantly, "dragging along" other specific indicators, if the unit volume of the cylinder is less than 300 cm3. In the terms of reference, the working volume was limited to a liter - and therefore, as one of the project managers noted, the need to obtain high power indicators and economy with such a volume “inevitably” led the designers to a three-cylinder engine.

Note that the new motor was supposed to close the “bottom” modern ECOTEC engine family. With the same power as a 1200 cc with two valves per cylinder, the EKOTEK-Compact liter turned out to be 12.5 kg lighter, 129 mm shorter, 51 already narrower and 27 mm lower than its predecessor. The main thing is that, thanks to a more advantageous torque characteristic, the Compact accelerates the Corsa faster both from its place and in top gear, and also saves an average of 10% of fuel.

I hope you did not get the impression that you came to such results simply by “cutting off” one cylinder. ECOTECH-Compact is a rather complicated, if not sophisticated, motor (Fig. 1). If distributed injection has become, in fact, mandatory on engines of the smallest displacement due to stringent requirements for toxicity and economy, then a multi-valve cylinder head with two camshafts on a liter engine is a rarity: only Nissan Mikra is equipped with analogues in the table below. The inlet air flow is organized so that it “splits” droplets of injected fuel into particles whose diameter is three times smaller than usual. Thanks to this, gasoline evaporates better, less settles on the walls of the channels - the toxicity level has become lower, the engine is more economical in acceleration and forced idle modes.

It is also important that the maximum torque is only 2800 rpm: half as much as the maximum power speed. Experts explain: this ratio indicates good elasticity of the engine, that is, its adaptability to changes in load (on the rise, when overtaking, etc.) without immediately engaging a lower gear. Moreover, in the range of 1500–5600 rpm the motor “provides” the driver with a torque reaching 90% of the maximum! In one of the next issues we hope to share our impressions of the trip to the Kors with such a motor - and here are some more important features.

The engine management system is arranged in a new way - that is, ignition and fuel injection. Modern microcircuit technology made it possible to fit the control unit into a flat box: 150x100x10 mm - less than an accounting calculator. It was not placed in the cabin, but directly on the engine; in addition, we used individual ignition coils worn directly on the candles - many wires and contacts became superfluous, the probability of typical defects and interference decreased. Candles with two "mass" electrodes require replacement only after 60 thousand km - someone will have time to part with "Corsa" without having completed this operation …

And what is there to do here: the valve pushers are hydraulic, there is no need to set a clearance - that means, change the oil, filters, at the same time ask if the motor chain is pulled and in what condition the V-ribbed belt is. The oil filter deserves special mention: it is raised high on a special spacer and is not accessible from below - from under the hood. Moreover - here is the notorious “spiral of development! - the filter here is collapsible: only its element is replaced, as it once was in Moskvich-412. Involuntarily, you scratch the back of your head: thirty years ago, a good argument in favor of a one-time non-separable filter was a gain in time during servicing. Other times - different songs: now it’s important that a collapsible filter makes recycling much easier. As for the complexity of maintenance (every 15 thousand km), the new motor, however, is approximately 12% lower than its predecessor.

The owner will at least feel the profitability of this on his wallet. But the question of what the cylinder block was cast from would seem to be more “philosophical” for him: let the company claim that cast iron (like EKOTEK-Compact) casting is half cheaper than aluminum - this is unlikely to affect the price of the machine. But "Opel" comes from the other side: the cast-iron block is tougher, it dampens vibration and noise more efficiently - that’s practical benefit for you. Perhaps someone who prefers the “Zhiguli” engine to “Moskvich” will agree with this - but is it really easy to convince a European who knows that both Mercedes and BMW (who are bigger than them, have recently switched from cast iron to aluminum? cares about the smooth, vibration-free operation of the motor!). And even the Volkswagen liter engine - it appeared a little earlier than EKOTEK-Compact - with an aluminum block … So maybe Opel just didn’t want to step back from the traditional, cheaper technology, but preferred a more complex and expensive design - “then”? Without numbers, it is difficult to answer such a question. Presumably, not only technicians, but also economists participated in the “good with beautiful” dispute.

The latter, however, keep their secrets, but the engineers all strive to insert a word: to make the three-cylinder engine less susceptible to vibrations, we engineers tried to make it as "denser" as possible: the wall thickness between the cylinders is only 5.5 mm!

… It seems that the “client has matured”, but we cannot calm down the professionals: “And we also made a frame between the block and the pallet: it replaces the individual main bearing caps and makes the power circuit much tougher. You just listen - we made hollow cast camshafts - each is 590 grams lighter than solid, moreover, they do not require heat treatment after casting! And on the heels of the rocker arm there are rollers, they roll around the cam. How “why” - friction losses in the cylinder head are reduced by 70% compared to a conventional engine, and from here, you know, the best efficiency!”According to the company, EKOTEK-Compact consumes an average of 0.7 l / 100 km less than the 1.2-liter predecessor: tangible when it comes to just 5.8 liters per "hundred"!

But if, with all the arguments for a new engine, the client sticks to more traditional decisions - please choose from three four-cylinder engines: 1.2 and 1.4 liters with central injection and eight valves; 1.4-liter 16-valve, two diesel engines - "atmospheric" and "turbo" with a volume of 1.7 liters. By the way, modifications with 1.6-liter engines, including the 109-horsepower GSi, “quietly passed away”: the emphasis on efficiency was strengthened. The step is quite justified: after all, half of the buyers of Korsa in Europe (and in Germany - even 60%) are women who care about the practicality of the machine more than the dynamics and maximum speed.

Practicality, by the way, is inseparable from the convenience, ease of control - and therefore even on the liter Corsa (for a fee) a power steering of a rare type so far is provided - electric. His device is explained in fig. 2 and 3, and the advantages are fewer parts than in the hydraulic one, it is 8 kg lighter than the latter, and it also slightly increases fuel consumption, since it takes less power from the engine. The latter is especially valuable, since an amplifier is most needed when parking, when the power developed by the engine is small.

The appearance of the ECOTEC-Compact motor is dedicated to the modernization of the Opel-Corsa. Slightly retouched appearance (lining, bumpers, moldings); the geometry of the front suspension has been slightly changed - they believe that now the car is better controlled in critical situations. The front ends of the stretch marks are mounted in hydraulic bearings: they reduce noise during suspension operation, make the steering less susceptible to external influences (tremors, wheel imbalance, etc.). It is hoped that the updated machine will occupy an even stronger position in the market.

In the table we tried to bring Corsa to the main competitors. True, “Daihatsu-Kuore” and “Daewoo Tiko” are lower class and taken to the company simply as rare examples of the use of a three-cylinder engine. It is curious that the closest to the new “Corsa” was “Renault Clio”, whose engine capacity is as much as 173 cm3 - 18% - more! Again, those who claim that "the lack of working volume can only be compensated for by its increment" are right again? Quite close to the “Corsa” in terms of “Nissan Mikra” - however, its engine “loves” high speeds, and therefore the much lighter “Mikra” consumes gasoline as much as the “Korsa”. By the way, pay attention: German models are noticeably heavier than analogues. The most convincing explanation for this is a safer, that is, durable, and therefore, massive body structure; the presence of standard devices that increase comfort and, again, passenger safety.

The Opel example shows: in order to achieve ever higher performance, companies are going to further complicate the design - now very small cars. Obviously, it is assumed that the high quality of components, careful assembly (and, in the end, developed service) should save the buyer from problems with a more complex machine. Another possibility is not excluded: a certain part of buyers is flattered by the consciousness of their involvement in the most advanced and modern technology.

Vladimir ARKUSHA

ECOTEC-Compact motors are made at the Vienna-Aspern plant in Austria.

Fig. 2. Power steering: DC motor (12 V, 45 A) connected to the steering shaft by a worm gear. It is controlled by a microprocessor, receiving signals from speed sensors, engine speed and torque on the steering shaft. Thanks to this, the gain effect exactly corresponds to the maneuver being performed.

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